🤔 Montgomery disbands police force

[GOYABEAN]

🚓 The community in Lycoming County has disbanded its police force, and now the state police are stepping in to fill the void.

MONTGOMERY, Pa. — About 1,500 people call the borough of Montgomery home. However, the Lycoming County municipality is now without a police department.

https://www.wnep.com/article/news/lo...1-dac00f1c9bdc

[Exbiker]

We have people in our township that want local police. Even though you can get grants and funding for startup the cost annually just to keep one or two cars on patrol 24/7 is more than most communities can afford.
Not to mention PSP are far better trained than most local PD's.

[soberbyker]

In Delaware County the state police are the police for 7 townships/boroughs. The main problem with using state police is they won't enforce township/borough ordinances, they will only enforce state laws IIRC.

[Noah_Zark]

Very commonplace anymore for municipalities to shut down their own police depts and rely on the PSP. The municipalities get a big boost in their budgets without raising taxes, and the costs shift to the rest of us. There has been talk for years of the PSP charging municipalities for their services, but that requires an act of the state legislature and the governor's signature, and they can't be bothered with actual lawmaking when there's partisan politics to be played and pork project $$$ to be distributed.

Noah

[Walleye Hunter]

Very commonplace anymore for municipalities to shut down their own police depts and rely on the PSP. The municipalities get a big boost in their budgets without raising taxes, and the costs shift to the rest of us. There has been talk for years of the PSP charging municipalities for their services, but that requires an act of the state legislature and the governor's signature, and they can't be bothered with actual lawmaking when there's partisan politics to be played and pork project $$$ to be distributed.

Noah

Isn't there a recently new fee added to our automobile registrations just for this purpose?

[soberbyker]

Isn't there a recently new fee added to our automobile registrations just for this purpose?

"These funds will be used by the county for transportation purposes or be allocated by the county in accordance with Section 9010(c) of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code. The county fee is in addition to the registration fee. "

https://www.dot.state.pa.us/public/d...s-feeLocal.pdf

[soberbyker]

Very commonplace anymore for municipalities to shut down their own police depts and rely on the PSP. The municipalities get a big boost in their budgets without raising taxes, and the costs shift to the rest of us. There has been talk for years of the PSP charging municipalities for their services, but that requires an act of the state legislature and the governor's signature, and they can't be bothered with actual lawmaking when there's partisan politics to be played and pork project $$$ to be distributed.

Noah

Yup, there's a been on and off talks for years about charging for state police. I can see a small boro or town with a low population not being able to afford their own police. Here in Delaware County 7 towns use state police. One of them, Middletown has a population of 16,373 (in 2020) and is 13 square miles, another os Concord Township, population 18,295 (2020) and is 13.7 square miles. They should be charged or form their own. The average of the other 5 towns is around 5,000 people and between 3 and 9 square miles.

[STBear]

Yup, there's a been on and off talks for years about charging for state police. I can see a small boro or town with a low population not being able to afford their own police. Here in Delaware County 7 towns use state police. One of them, Middletown has a population of 16,373 (in 2020) and is 13 square miles, another os Concord Township, population 18,295 (2020) and is 13.7 square miles. They should be charged or form their own. The average of the other 5 towns is around 5,000 people and between 3 and 9 square miles.

and Middletown and Concord are fairly affluent townships. Well at least not ghetto.

[Exbiker]

In Delaware County the state police are the police for 7 townships/boroughs. The main problem with using state police is they won't enforce township/borough ordinances, they will only enforce state laws IIRC.

Most locals won't either. Usually ordinances violations go through the district justice then served by either constable or maybe sheriff.

[soberbyker]

Most locals won't either. Usually ordinances violations go through the district justice then served by either constable or maybe sheriff.

I was thinking more like parking meter tickets, noise violations, burning, etc. things that local police would normally do/address.